


here is a heart (i made it for you)

by buckysbears (DrZebra)



Series: home to heart [3]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Touch-Starved, and do a lot of cuddling and bantering along the way, and in which bow is there to be adorable and adora is there to be a dumb lesbian, background catradora, background glimbow - Freeform, in which catra and glimmer finally talk some shit out, including horde prime and angella, part of a series but works as standalone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25806622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrZebra/pseuds/buckysbears
Summary: Catra pulled away, and Glimmer saw she wasn’t the only one crying. They stared at each other, two girls up very, very high, and Glimmer found her chest humming with something unnamed and fiercely protective.She raised her hand and cupped it against Catra’s cheek.“If you fall—” she said slowly, carefully. She wiped away a tear with her thumb. “-I’m going to catch you.”Both Glimmer and Catra have been through a lot, and they've done things they regret. That doesn't mean they'll ever give up on each other. They're not allowed to give up on themselves, either.(part 3 of touch-starved catra)
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: home to heart [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772560
Comments: 53
Kudos: 501





	here is a heart (i made it for you)

**Author's Note:**

> yeah i know its been two months but im back :') hey guys. totally astounded by the response to this series, so here take my heart and also more fic <3 i really hope yall enjoy this one, i think its my favorite so far 
> 
> (while this is catradora, it did get one person to start shipping glitra so if that happens to you im NOT SORRY. multishipper 4 life) 
> 
> thank you agentcalliope and nightlocktime!!!

“One day you’re going to fall and I’m not going to know to come catch you.”

Glimmer propped her hand on her hip as she watched Catra’s ears swivel and flatten. She didn’t turn around, or move at all besides the steady flick of her tail. Glimmer wondered how she wasn’t cold this high on the roof of Bright Moon castle, with only the chill wind and twinkling stars to keep her company.

“Well—” Catra mumbled, hugging one leg closer to her chest. The other was dangling over the edge of the roof, just bare foot, then steep drop, and nothing besides for a long, long time. “-gotta use those nine lives for something, right?”

The wind ruffled Catra’s hair. Glimmer shivered.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a myth.”

“You’d be surprised.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes, drawing her shawl tighter around her with one hand. It was freezing, but she’d come prepared. And, okay, _maybe_ she’d checked a few other hiding spots first, hoping the roof wouldn’t be where Catra was. Glimmer had a whole ranking system of Catra spots. The garden was for self-reflection, generally non-angsty. Her mother’s mural was for self-reflection, definitely angsty. The storage closet was where she went when she was anxious. Training room when she was mad. No matter how she would fight it, Catra was fairly predictable, so Glimmer had known to check the roof too. She just didn’t _want_ to, one because it was cold (that’s why she’d gotten her shawl first), and two because the roof, _especially_ at night, was the absolute gloomiest Catra. And gloominess was the hardest emotion for Catra to shake.

“Well,” Glimmer said, keeping her footing careful. If she fell, she could teleport to safety. But she was keeping a watchful eye on the plate in her hands. “I hear cats land on their feet.”

The reply was almost too soft for her to make out.

“You’d be surprised about that, too.”

Glimmer tiptoed her way down the gentle slope of the roof, and cautiously lowered herself to sit at Catra’s side.

She could practically feel the gravity tugging at her boots.

“If you _do_ actually fall, I don’t care if you die, I’m gonna beat your ass so bad.”

She was right—Catra’s lips tugged upward at the edge.

“That’s not very nice.”

“When have I literally _ever_ been nice?”

A pitiful huff of a laugh pulled from Catra’s nose. Then her nostrils flared, and her head snapped over to the plate in Glimmer’s hands.

Her eyebrows furrowed a little. She blinked.

“What’s that?”

Glimmer smiled. Up in the cold air, her chest felt a little warmer.

“Me being nice.”

Catra unfurled from her brooding hero pose to accept the plate of pastries as it was passed to her. She stared down at it dumbly, eyes wide and ears pinned.

“I thought Adora ate all of them,” she mumbled after a few moments.

“Oh, she did. In like four seconds. Honestly, I was a little mad, it took me like two hours to bake them.”

Catra looked up at her.

Glimmer shrugged.

“But you really wanted to try them, and you didn’t get any, so I made you some more.”

Catra stared. “You don’t even like baking.”

“Oh _stars_ no. I hate it. You have to be so careful about everything, and read _instructions_ , and it takes forever—and then Adora still inhales it in less than a minute! And it’s like— _what was the point of all that?_ But my royal advisors keep telling me I have to be—” She waved her hands. “- _well-rounded_ or something. Whatever. I can teleport and punch stuff with magic, I don’t see why I have to know how to bake a cake.”

“Or a pastry.”

“Or a pastry.” She tilted her head, squinting as she smiled at Catra. “But from the one review I got, I hear they’re pretty good. I didn’t want you to miss out.”

Catra’s eyes slid down to the plate again. She was quiet for a long while, long enough that Glimmer wondered if maybe she’d made a mistake after all. But then Catra’s throat bobbed, and she let out a raspy, “Thanks.” She turned and curled around the plate protectively, rubbing the pad of her thumb over one pink pastry.

Glimmer’s lips drew further, and she leaned back on her hands, turning her gaze up to the dark sky.

“If they’re not good, don’t tell me. Seriously. I don’t think I could handle that.”

Catra brought the first one up to her mouth, took a bite, and chewed. Glimmer tensed as she waited.

After a moment, Catra nodded. “They’re good. Really.”

Glimmer laughed. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Grabbing another pastry between what Glimmer was sure were roof-dusty fingers, Catra twisted to hand her one—baby blue with a little swirl on top.

She took the proffered pastry and put the whole thing in her mouth.

“Oh, wow,” she said around the mouthful, “I am extremely talented.”

Catra chuckled. “So humble.”

“Seriously, why am I queen? I should be the head chef.”

“Okay, they’re not that good. I lied. I’m barely choking this down.”

“No, you can’t take it back now. My eyes are open. I can see my new path stretching out in front of me.”

Catra shook her head, laughing.

“The _real_ test, though,” Glimmer continued, swallowing, “is if the pastries are so good, they got rid of gloomy Catra. Then I would seriously consider switching professions.”

The laughter stopped. Catra stared down at the plate, shoulders hunching.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “They fixed me.”

“Oh, I didn’t say they would _fix_ you.” Her hand came up to pat Catra’s back and settle halfway against her neck in a fond gesture. “They’re pastries, they’re not magic.”

Catra flinched.

Her hand pulled away as if she’d been stung.

“I’m sorry! Sorry.” Glimmer cradled her hands against her chest. “No touching day?”

Catra’s fingers gripped the edges of the plate.

“I’m sorry,” she continued, quieter. “I should’ve checked.”

Catra’s jaw tensed as she swallowed. After a moment, she straightened herself up, taking a measured breath.

“It’s not, um … a no touching day. Just a no touching _there_ day.”

A cold tendril coiled in Glimmer’s stomach.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Glimmer nodded, letting her head drop and her hands pillow on her lap. “That explains the roof, then.”

Catra took another breath. “Yeah.”

They were quiet as the weight of it settled over them, as the stars shone overhead much like they once shone through the windows of a very large, very cold ship.

Glimmer shivered again. The wind, this time, had not blown.

“But it’s not a no touching day?” she asked again.

“No.”

“Good.”

She held her hand out—palm up—between them. Catra stared down at it for a long moment before setting the plate aside and slipping her fingers through Glimmer’s own. Glimmer squeezed and covered their conjoined hands with her free one. They sat, very quiet, and very still, and clung to each other.

“It’s not going to hurt forever,” Glimmer told her.

“And you know that for sure.”

“No,” she admitted. “I was trying to convince myself, too.”

A little huff drew from Catra’s nose. She tipped sideways, resting her head against the crook of Glimmer’s shoulder. Glimmer removed her hand on top and used it to pull Catra’s head closer, fingers tangled in her hair and very careful not to touch her neck, the little patch of skin where her fur had never grown back.

“He’s _gone_. Adora made sure of that. He’s not going to get us again, no matter what the nightmares say.”

“I still …” She could feel Catra swallow. “I still get these little, like … zaps? I guess? These weird tingles in my neck. It scares me, sometimes. I wonder if Entrapta didn’t get it all out.”

Glimmer was quiet for a moment. Her first instinct was to say that was silly, that Entrapta was extremely skilled and knowledgeable and wouldn’t have missed something so crucial. But she knew, better than anyone, that fear wasn’t silly. Even when other people didn’t understand.

“I’ll go with you to the healers,” she whispered. “We’ll double check.”

Catra sighed.

“Thank you.”

Glimmer pillowed her cheek on the other girl’s head and stroked through her hair with her thumb, just brushing the downy base of her ear.

“You, um … You have nightmares about him?”

Glimmer chuckled. “Oh yeah. Big time.”

Catra pushed a little closer. “Me too.”

“Sometimes it’s just about the ship,” she admitted. “That I’m running and running, trying to find a way out, and it’s just … endless. No matter what path I take, there’s no exit, or it’s just a big circle.” She took a small, shaky breath. “And sometimes it’s about him. Sometimes it’s him.”

“I get dreams where … when I wake up, I’m pretty sure it was a memory? It’s easier to remember what happened, uh … afterward … when I’m sleeping. When I’m awake, I’ll just get these feelings, or … Flashes of, like, smells or sounds. But when I’m dreaming, I see stuff. I see him. He, um …” She cleared her throat. “He’d put his hand on my neck a lot.”

Glimmer tensed, then forced herself to relax. She squeezed Catra closer.

“Gross.”

“Yeah.”

“Catra, I—” She ground her jaw, but that didn’t stop the hot flood of tears. The sky grew smudgy and she squeezed her eyes shut against the sight. “I know I’ve said it before, but I really can’t- I can never thank you enough for what you did for me. I- I know it was for Adora, too, and I am sorry that plan backfired, even if I’m really not sorry at all. But … thank you. Again. I can only imagine what you went through, but … sometimes I get nightmares about that, too—about what would have happened if you didn’t get me out. And those are bad enough. But what you went through- I- No one should have to—” Her breath hiccupped, and she took a few moments to calm herself. “I’m sorry. And thank you. And I just want you to know … I would always come back for you. I wouldn’t always have in the past, but … I would. I’d come back for you.”

Catra pulled away, and Glimmer saw she wasn’t the only one crying. They stared at each other, two girls up very, very high, and Glimmer found her chest humming with something unnamed and fiercely protective.

She raised her hand and cupped it against Catra’s cheek.

“If you fall—” she said slowly, carefully. She wiped away a tear with her thumb. “-I’m going to catch you.”

Catra stared with pinched brows and a trembling chin. She tried to pull in a breath, but it got stuck, and what resulted was a choked thing like a sob. She nodded quickly, and covered Glimmer’s hand with her own.

“I don’t always land on my feet,” she said, quiet and broken.

“Well, you’ll never have to find out again.”

They pulled to each other, arms wrapped tight, chests flush, faces buried against necks—very, very close and not willing to let go. Catra sobbed again, but the sound was so muffled against Glimmer’s neck that it was barely audible over the wind.

Glimmer squeezed as close as she could, so tight she could feel Catra’s heartbeat drumming behind her ribs. She let them stay like that for a while, one huddled mass at the top of a tower where no one could see them from ground nor sky, before she spoke.

“You know what you need?” she asked, trying to inject some energy into her voice.

“More pastries?”

“No. I mean, yes, later. But no. You need a Bow hug. Bow hugs fix literally everything.”

Catra groaned.

“You just want him to see me cry.”

“What? No. That would be sadistic. Me and Bow don’t think it’s like super adorable when you cry, that would be really mean and weird.”

“Really? Because last week when I cried during story night you _specifically_ said it was super adorable.”

“Don’t be silly. I swear, Catra, that paranoia of yours is going to be your downfall.”

Catra let out a quiet chuckle, then pulled back to wipe her face.

Glimmer pointed at her, grinning. “Bow hug?”

Catra shook her head fondly, her own lips pulling into a smile. “Fine. Bow hug.”

Glimmer held their conjoined hands up, squeezed them, and then they left the cold roof and the empty, glittering, endless sky behind.

They found themselves in the chamber off of the Queen’s quarters—which Glimmer was still having a hard time thinking of as hers. Bow and Adora were sitting on the floor around the table, a board game spread between them. They both looked up as Glimmer and Catra poofed into the room holding hands.

“Bow!” Glimmer immediately called. “We need a hug! Stat!”

“Oh no, you’re crying.” Adora’s expression went wide with guilt. “Is it because I ate all the pastries? I feel really bad. I’d _just_ finished working out and I was really hungry, I hadn’t really eaten all day and they smelled _so good_ —”

“Yes,” Glimmer cut her off, nodding gravely. “It is because you ate all the pastries. We’ll think of a just punishment for you later.”

Adora’s face relaxed for only a moment before she morphed it into something mournful and slumped over the table. “I knew it. What a monumental mistake. I’ll prepare to be banished first thing in the morning.”

Bow hummed as he stood and crossed part of the room towards them. One hand propped on his hip, the other came up to stoke over his chin.

“I don’t know, Doctor Glimmer,” he started, voice low, “this looks like a very serious case. I don’t know if I can heal it with a hug.”

“I know, Doctor Bow. It’ll be your toughest one yet. But you have a duty to try.”

He nodded, eyes closed, before he spread both of his arms in invitation.

Catra’s hand shook as it slipped from Glimmer’s grasp. She took one step, small and hesitant. Bow curled his hands to wave her on.

She crashed against his chest with an audible _thump_ , and Bow enveloped her wholly. One arm wrapped around her back, the other coming up to cradle her head against his chest. Catra clung back with desperation. Only one sob echoed through the room.

Adora stood and crossed over to Glimmer. Her hands were twisting together as she watched them, expression pinched.

“Is—”

“She’ll be okay,” Glimmer whispered. She slung an arm around Adora’s waist to pull her closer and rested her head against Adora’s shoulder. “We’re around to catch her.”

She was going to wear a groove in the floor with how often she came here, but that was fine. She’d rather it be that way than the opposite. There were images of Queen Angella all over the castle, but the mural had always been special to her. It was very silly, and very childish, but deep down she worried that if she didn’t visit often, if she didn’t sit and talk to it like she was doing now, that the mural would get lonely. Sometimes people forgot how young Glimmer was. With everything she’d been through, sometimes she did too. But maybe it was okay to be a little childish sometimes, to believe in a different sort of magic.

“Hey, mom,” she said, pulling her legs crisscross. She stared up at it, a soft smile on her face. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d say hi.”

The mural was silent.

“Pretty boring day today. General queenly duties. We’re working on a new trade route between Perfuma and Frosta’s kingdoms. They’ve been having some trouble with bandits in the mountains stealing their supplies. Adora wanted to just go and scare them straight, but—” She snorted. “Perfuma is convinced that if they turned to crime, they have a good reason, so she wants to reach out to them instead. We’re sending some diplomatic envoys out in a few days.” Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “I’m kind of with Adora, but I think I’m just getting antsy. It’s been a while since I left the castle.”

She continued to stare, eyes tracing patterns across the mural’s geometric shapes.

“Did you ever get bored here?” she continued, quieter. “Not that I’m not grateful for the position I have. I know I have it better than a lot of people do. It’s more responsibility, sure, but I have everything I could ask for. Sometimes I just get … I don’t know. Restless, I guess. I want to be out in the world, doing things. I’m so, so grateful we’ve finally put a stop to the war. I’m glad people are safe, that no one is getting hurt. It’s just … an adjustment. I didn’t know any different for so long.”

She looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Sometimes I wish I was out in the universe exploring. The others go out on the ship sometimes, going around and helping planets. I want to go with them, but … it seems like something always comes up here. I get … Well. Kind of lonely. I guess that’s selfish. I’m needed here. And they’re doing good work out there, necessary work. I wouldn’t ask them to stay, and I wouldn’t abandon my duties. I wouldn’t change anything about how things have ended up, except …”

Her eyes watered. She brushed her fingers against them, then looked up at the face of her mother.

A noise echoed from down the hall, and Glimmer jumped. It wasn’t long before the noise became clearer—until a very grumbly alien cat came around the corner of the hall with a much quieter and less alien cat. They both looked tired. Melog was dragging their feet, mane droopy and a pale blue. Catra wasn’t even looking ahead—had her head down and was rubbing at her eyes. Her tail hung limp behind her.

“Catra,” Glimmer mumbled.

The girl jolted and looked up, tail standing on edge and fluffed. Glimmer almost laughed, but now that she could see her face better, she realized how wrecked the other girl looked. Her eyes were blurry, and there were dark bags hanging beneath them. Her face looked a little off, like maybe the skin beneath her short fur had grown paler. Her mouth opened and closed a few times; she dropped her hand.

“Sorry,” she said, voice low and raspy. “I didn’t know anyone else was here. I didn’t mean to- I can just—”

She shot her thumb over her shoulder.

Glimmer’s lip quirked. “Don’t be silly. Come here.”

Catra’s mouth closed. She swallowed. After a moment, she dragged herself closer and sat at Glimmer’s side. It was close enough that Glimmer could feel the warmth coming off her—their knees were just touching.

Melog chuffed, but the sound was so exhausted Glimmer wasn’t surprised when they slunk back down the hall towards the bedchambers without even going invisible.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Glimmer asked softly.

“Didn’t want to try.”

“You’ve been not trying a lot lately.”

Catra hummed.

“Nightmares?”

A sigh pulled from her, and Catra reached up to rub at her eyes again.

“Memories, more often.”

“Sometimes that’s worse.”

A sharp sound escaped her lips, not quite a laugh. “Tell me about it.”

Glimmer held up her arm, and Catra immediately accepted the invitation. She wasn’t polite about her weight, either—she slumped against Glimmer’s side with the full heaviness of her exhaustion.

“What’ve you been remembering?”

A little shrug. “Everything. Too much. I don’t know.” She paused. “Sometimes … Sometimes I do dream. I dream about what would have happened if I’d made different choices. If- If I’d gone with Adora. If I hadn’t driven Scorpia away. But a lot of the time it’s … the portal. What would’ve happened if I never opened it.”

Glimmer’s lips twisted. She tried not to stiffen enough that Catra would feel it.

“I don’t think it’s very productive to dwell on that. We have so much amazing technology in our world, and so much magic. But we can’t change the past. Despite all that, we can’t change what happened.”

“So many people got hurt,” Catra whispered. “And if I hadn’t opened it, Prime never … We wouldn’t have been taken, all those people who got chipped wouldn’t- And your mom—”

“Stop.”

Catra quieted.

“I don’t …” Glimmer swallowed. “I don’t forgive you for that.”

The other girl stiffened. She tried to pull away, but Glimmer squeezed her shoulder and held her close.

“You know I love you. I’m glad you’re here. I’m so happy we’re friends now, and that you’re with Adora, and that we’re all safe. But you did a lot of bad things—things I can’t just forget about. You opened the portal, and my mother is gone. I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for something like that.”

Catra was quiet. Glimmer could feel her shaking against her chest.

“But I’ve done bad things too. I was stubborn and selfish and charged ahead with a plan I knew nothing about. I almost destroyed the world, and I hurt so many of my friends in the process. And, yes, Prime knew to look for us because of the portal. But he found Etheria because of me. I am so, so deeply sorry for that, for the role I played in everything, but I don’t expect anyone to forgive me. We can move on, I can do better, I can make good choices, for my friends’ sakes. But they don’t have to forgive me. And maybe that’s okay.”

“How do you …” Catra’s jaw trembled. “How do you make up for it all?”

“I don’t know,” Glimmer answered honestly.

Catra was quiet. She turned her head to press closer, her hair tickling at Glimmer’s neck. Her hands gripped her own elbows as she leaned against Glimmer, tail lashing behind her.

“I died, you know,” she whispered, just loud enough that the words stayed between them. “In the portal. I burnt up until I was nothing, and I still remember it. I tried to drag Adora down with me. And I burnt up. I remember being gone.”

Glimmer was silent, waiting for her to continue. After a moment, she did.

“Sometimes I think things would be better if I’d stayed that way.”

Glimmer tensed. She sighed, dropping her cheek against Catra’s head.

“I don’t like hearing my friend say that about herself.”

“It’s true.”

“No, it’s not.” Her brows furrowed. She pulled Catra closer. “It’s understandable. It’s fear, it’s hurt, it’s guilt. I get it. I do. I get why you feel that way. But it doesn’t make it true. And not a single person who cares about you would even wonder if it was.”

Catra didn’t respond, and Glimmer shook her, just a little.

“Do you understand?”

“… Yeah.”

“Good.”

The girl shifted in Glimmer’s arms, extracting one hand to cling in the fabric of Glimmer’s shirt.

“The portal, um …” She took a breath. “The portal needed someone to stay behind. If we opened it again, if your mom is still in there, and I stayed instead—”

“No.”

Catra pulled back just far enough that she could glare. “What, it’s not even a discussion?”

“No, it’s not. And I’m not saying this as your friend. As your queen, I’m saying no. I won’t hear another word about it.”

Catra’s expression pinched in anger, but the effect was dampened by the tears that hung at the corners of her eyes. She glared, and Glimmer stared back—not angry, just quiet and set. The contest of wills seemed to wear at Catra, until finally her face crumpled and she leaned against Glimmer once again.

“I don’t know what else to do.”

Glimmer thought for a moment.

“You’ve made a lot of mistakes, Catra. But you don’t just get to get out of it. Now is the time where you put in the work and make up for things. You make good choices. And every choice you make isn’t just for you; not anymore. You make choices for my mother, for Adora, for me and Bow, Scorpia, everyone. There are a lot of people you’ve hurt, and you owe it to them to live a life full of service and selfless love. You’ll make mistakes. We all do. But your first and most crucial one is thinking the world would be better off without you in it. It’s easy to forget how young we are, sometimes. I know I don’t always feel it. But you’re going to live for a good while longer, and your life will be full of opportunities to put good and happiness into the world. It’s not right to take that away.”

The words settled over Catra, and Glimmer could feel the difference come over her. Her shivers stopped; her muscles relaxed. The clawed hand had stopped its desperate gripping and was now merely a comforting weight. Each breath came clear and even, and when Catra pulled away, her tears no longer fell.

She wiped the wet from her cheeks and stared up at the mural of Queen Angella of Bright Moon for a long time.

“I think I’d like to go on that peacekeeping mission,” she said eventually, “with the envoys. Some of the bandits might be former Horde. I could talk to them.”

Glimmer smiled. “I think that’s a really good idea.”

“Maybe I could—” She cleared her throat, looking down. “I could take some trips back to the Fright Zone, too. Help Scorpia with the rebuilding.”

“You could.” Glimmer nodded. “If you think you’re ready for that.”

“Yeah. I think I am.”

The smile stuck on her face as she looked at Catra. She huffed a tiny laugh, moving her hand to play with the strands of hair hanging below her jaw.

“It’s weird seeing your hair this length,” Glimmer said. Catra glanced from the corner of her eye, mouth opening in a self-conscious smile. “It’s going to be to your shoulders soon.”

“That a bad thing?”

“No. It looks nice.” She twirled the dark hair around her fingers. “No offence, but it’s a lot tamer than it used to be.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Catra raised a hand to run through the growing strands. It was a nervous habit she’d developed recently. “Aunt Casta helped me find a good shampoo. Apparently there are different ones? She said the Horde shampoo might as well have been acid. It never messed with Adora’s hair. So annoying.”

Glimmer snorted. “Agreed.” She dropped her hand and knocked their shoulders together. “Aunt Casta had to help me with mine, too. Mom never could figure out how to take care of it. It’s a lot more like my dad’s. But the magic makes it _so_ frizzy, ugh. Difficult hair squad.”

Catra snickered. “Difficult hair squad.”

A yawn, so wide it cracked her jaw, split Glimmer’s face. She grumbled, rubbing a hand against her eye.

“Tired?” Catra said, grinning.

“Well, duh. It’s the middle of the night.”

“Go to bed.”

“Are you going to?”

“Maybe. In a little while.”

“M’kay.” Glimmer rubbed at the rest of her face sleepily. “We’ll sit for a bit longer, then.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Nonsense.”

She tapped on Catra’s arm, and as if practiced, they shifted until they were back to back, supporting the other’s weight as their heads came to rest together.

Glimmer sighed.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said quietly. “I’m grateful we’re friends, and I love you.”

Catra grumbled. “Do I have to say it back?”

“Obviously, or my feelings will be deeply hurt, and I will cry for hours and hours and then _neither_ of us will get any sleep.”

Catra laughed. “Fine. I love you too.”

“To the stars and back.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“Best Friend Squad forever.”

“You’re just doing it on purpose now.”

Glimmer settled in with a smile. “You’re gonna be alright, you know.”

Catra was quiet for a moment. “Yeah.”

“Catra?”

They both startled, because the voice hadn’t come from Glimmer. It was a half-shout, half-whisper that bounded nervously down the hall.

Adora rounded the corner. Her face drooped in relief.

“Oh, there you are. I woke up and you were gone.”

“Sorry,” Catra said. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“And you woke Glimmer up instead of me?” A yawn cracked her face. She stretched. “It’s fine, I woke up Bow.”

“You what?” Glimmer deadpanned.

“Adora? Did you find them?”

“Yeah!” she called behind her. “They’re here.”

Bow shuffled around the corner, hair flat on one side, a heavy blanket around his shoulders. He barely had his eyes open as he made his way closer.

“’Kay. Good.”

“You know you don’t have to wake the whole castle whenever I decide to go for a stroll, right?” Catra grumbled.

Adora hummed. “I got lonely.”

“You were asleep.”

“The bed was cold.”

“The halls are colder.”

Adora nodded sleepily and folded to the floor beside Catra. “S’okay. Bow has a blanket.” She scooted down until her head was resting in Catra’s lap, body curled lazily on the cold stone.

Catra raised her hands as she stared down at her. “Oh, is this what we’re doing?”

“You weren’t in bed,” Adora mumbled, barely comprehensible. She shuffled, pressing her face into Catra’s stomach. “I brought the bed to you.”

“That’s … super weird. But sweet, I guess.”

“Best Friend Squad cuddle pile,” Bow mumbled, smacking his lips sleepily. He stopped next to them, then a pillow shot out from beneath the blanket and landed in Glimmer’s lap.

“Oh, thanks,” she said.

“That’s for me.”

Another pillow appeared and landed with a _thump_ on top of the first one.

“That one’s for you.”

“I’m with Catra,” Glimmer said, resting her hands on the pillows, “this is really weird. But I’m also _not_ teleporting all four of us right now. Way too tired.”

“No teleporting,” Bow said quietly, “just sleeping. Sleeping time.”

They adjusted so they were all lying down. Glimmer was on her back with one pillow under her head, Catra’s head resting on her shoulder. Bow was between them both with his head on Glimmer’s stomach and his pillow cradled protectively in his arms. Adora was curled around Catra’s back with her cheek smushed against Catra’s side and an arm around her hips. Glimmer could’ve protested. She’d grown up with the cushiest, coziest, fluffiest beds in all the kingdoms, and she wasn’t used to sleeping on the floor. But, surprisingly enough, she was very comfortable, and very warm.

She heard Adora shift to curl closer.

“You okay?” Adora mumbled.

“Yeah,” Catra whispered back. “I’m alright.”

Glimmer let her head tilt and eyes travel up. The mural was upside-down like this, and very, very tall. Her mother’s face looked down at her.

Glimmer pulled Catra closer. One of her hands played with Bow’s curly hair.

She had regrets. Of course she did. She’d make mistakes, and so had others. Even the people she was closest to.

But this? Right here, right now?

This, she wouldn’t change.

It was another bitter day. They came like waves crashing against the rocks—messy and inevitable. Sometimes the tides were calm, but sure as anything, a storm would brew, the moons would pull, and the waves would rage and lash just like Glimmer’s life. It didn’t mean it would always be that way. Things would calm again. They always did. But sometimes it was hard to keep her head above water.

Glimmer crashed out of the meeting room and started racing down the hall. It was one of those days where everyone who could have a problem wound up having two, and it came down to Glimmer to fix them. Or, if she couldn’t fix them, find someone who could. Scorpia’s kingdom (which the princess in question had renamed several times already, never settling on one for long) was having a drought. Pirates—and not the fun kind—had set siege to a peaceful village in Salineas and fled before they could be apprehended. A faction of her own people were questioning her place on the throne now that her father was back. It was a _mess_. All of it. The whole day.

Glimmer skidded to a stop. Her face was wide with dawning realization.

“I can teleport,” she said to no one in particular.

The guard at the end of the hall looked at her, and then around to see if anyone else was there.

Glimmer poofed away.

She went to Bow’s room first, but—no, not there. It was tidy and emptier than usual.

Adora and Catra’s room was in a similar state.

Her third stop was the supply closet, but it had already been cleared out. She paused there to hug herself, not wanting to teleport to the last location.

If she was too late, if she’d missed them …

She shook her head and disappeared in a flash.

“Your Majesty!” came a loud voice before she’d even opened her eyes.

Glimmer nearly screamed. She put a hand to her chest, feeling her racing heart.

“Oh, Entrapta. You guys haven’t left yet.”

“Of course not! I was waiting to get your permission about a thing I maybe already did.”

Bow huffed a laugh, and Glimmer looked to him with a smile. He was standing in front of the ship with a duffel bag under one arm and a small crate by his feet.

“She raided your kitchen,” he informed her fondly. “And not for food. You’re gonna need a new toaster, blender, replace the piping under the left sink—”

“And about half your oven,” Entrapta finished cheerfully. “I needed supplies for Darla. You don’t mind, do you?”

Glimmer sighed with a wavering smile. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m just glad I wasn’t too late to say goodbye.”

“Hey.” Bow dropped the duffel and came to stand next to her. He threw one arm around her shoulders and used it to pull her closer, dropping a kiss against her temple. “You know we wouldn’t have left before we saw you.”

“Yeah.” She leaned against him heavier. “Right.”

Bickering voices grew closer as Adora and Catra walked down the ramp of the spaceship. They stopped at its base, arms waving as their voices grew.

“Swift Wind was a _horse_ , winged horses are like, a _thing_. Winged cats are not a thing!”

“So your She-ra magic is constrained by mythology? That’s a super weird rule!”

“It’s- I don’t know what it’s constrained by, _that’s the point!_ If I zapped you, I have no idea what it would—”

“Guys?” Glimmer said, spreading her hands. “I’m here to say goodbye?”

“They’ve been at this for an hour,” Bow whispered.

“I’m just saying—it’s not fair you’re hogging all the cool powers to yourself. What was the point of releasing magic if—”

“Guys!”

The argument stopped.

“Glimmer!” Adora said, face lighting. “You’re here! I was so worried you wouldn’t make it.”

“I was worried I wasn’t going to, either,” she said as Adora came towards her.

Bow barely got the warning of “Move” before Adora was pushing him away and lifting Glimmer in a rib-crushing hug.

The breath left Glimmer in a _whoosh_.

“Alright,” she choked out, patting Adora’s back. “Alright, big girl, you’re gonna snap me in two.”

Adora dropped her, stepping back sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Glimmer smiled at her, trying not to let her eyes water. “It’s only a month, yeah?”

“Yeah. We’ll be back before you know it.”

Glimmer raised her fist, knocking it slowly against Adora’s chin. “Get out there and cause some trouble.”

“Not the point of this,” Bow said from beside them. “Literally the opposite of the point.”

Adora stepped away and turned back towards the ship. Catra was watching them with a clouded expression and one hand grabbing her arm. Adora paused, staring for a moment before she made her way to Catra. Glimmer watched them both.

Adora sighed, knocking her boot against the ground. She took Catra’s free hand and started massaging her knuckles.

“It’s only a month,” she echoed.

“Yeah,” Catra said. She shot her a watery smile.

“And you’re sure you—”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

Adora nodded, looking up at her through her lashes. She leaned in first, but Catra met her halfway. Their lips locked, and for too long, didn’t separate.

“We really should be going,” Entrapta said.

They didn’t move.

Glimmer blushed, but she didn’t look away, either.

“Okay,” Entrapta continued. “We’re going now. Please stop that.”

Her purple pigtails rose, came between them, and pushed the two girls apart forcefully.

Adora’s hand stretched out in front of her, and Catra’s followed suit. Their fingers twisted and reached, the tips knocking together.

“I’ll always remember you!” Adora faux-shouted.

“Not if I remember you first!”

Adora broke into laughter. Catra chuckled, but wiped at her eyes as Adora picked up the last of the supplies and went back onto the ship.

“We don’t have to do that too, do we?” Bow asked with a grin.

“Of course not. If we did, it would be much more dramatic and cool.”

Bow laughed, then leaned down to kiss the corner of her mouth.

“One month. Back on the dot.”

“You better.”

“Miss you.”

“You too.”

Bow and Entrapta made their way up the ramp as well. The three of them waved with nervous grins until the ramp lifted and covered them completely. Catra came to stand next to her, holding her elbows.

They stared at the ship as lights began to flash and it began to hum.

“You’re not going with them?”

“Not this time.”

“Why?”

Catra was quiet for a moment. The grass around the ship flattened as air started to push from it.

“I think I’ve had enough of space for a while.”

Glimmer nodded. “I get that.”

“I thought- um—” She shrugged. “I thought that maybe, I- I could do more good here on Etheria, this time.”

Glimmer’s lips quirked into a smile. She linked her arm through Catra’s.

“Just admit you would have missed me too much, Horde Scum.”

“Yeah, that’s it. You definitely cracked it. I wanted to stay with you over a sound-proof ship with my girlfriend.”

“Gross.”

Catra snickered.

“I’m—” Glimmer took a big breath and pushed it out. “-very, very selfishly glad you’re staying. Which you can never tell Adora—”

“Because she would never leave again. Yeah, I’m aware.”

Glimmer smiled. They watched as the ship lifted from the ground, hovered for a drawn few moments, then shot into the pink and blue evening sky. They watched as it lessened into a speck and then disappeared. And they continued watching the spot long after.

“Just a month,” Glimmer told them both. She wiggled her arm. “You gonna be alright?”

“Me? Of course.” A pause. “Cats always land on their feet.”

“And if you don’t—”

“You’ll be there to catch me.” Her lips turned up at the edges. “I got it, Sparkles.”

Glimmer’s head tilted to rest against Catra’s shoulder. “Just making sure.”

“I’m staying for you, anyway. I know you need _so_ much help.”

“More sarcasm like that, and I’m going to wave them back to come get you.”

The smile stayed on her face, even as they both stared up into space and were quiet.

Eventually, Catra let out a long sigh.

“Come on, Sparkles,” she said, tipping her head down. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Right beside you.”

And she was.

**Author's Note:**

> does me making this from glimmer's pov mean i have to do one from bow's next? yes, yes it does. do i already have the concept and the title for the next one? yes, yes i do


End file.
